For representative purposes.
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“You look rather tired. Have you been up all night reading the book you bought a couple of days ago?”
“There’s a major problem at the office. So, we’ve all been working rather late. As far as the novel is concerned, I’ve given up on it. Found it to be one big yawn.”
“A big yawn? What do you mean?”
“You should be able to figure out the meaning. Tell me, when does a person normally yawn?”
“Usually, when the person is very sleepy.”
“Yes, we all yawn when we’re sleepy. Can you think of any other occasion when a…”
“A person also yawns when he’s bored! When he’s…”
“That’s right! You also yawn when the person you’re talking to or the book you’re reading is boring. So, when you say that the book was a total yawn, what you mean is that it was very boring.”
“How about this example? The match between India and Sri Lanka was a total yawn.”
“Yes, it was rather one sided, wasn’t it? The two-day workshop I attended in Goa was a bit of a yawn. The expression is mostly used in informal contexts.”
“My father says that most academic conferences are a total waste of time and money.”
“My uncle, who is a professor, calls them a snoozefest.”
“Snoozefest? I’ve never heard that word. What does it mean?”
“Do you know what ‘snooze’ means?”
“Of course, I do! When you ‘snooze’, you sleep for a very short time. You nap.”
“Very good! Snoozing is usually done during the day time. When you say that the conference was a ‘snoozefest’, what you’re suggesting is that…”
“It put you to sleep. The papers presented were so boring that you found it difficult to stay awake.”
“Very good! Here’s another example. The speech given by the Minister was such a snoozefest that many people in the audience kept looking at their watch quite frequently.”
“I usually enjoy watching your favourite hero’s movies. But the latest one proved to be a snoozefest. I just couldn’t sit through it.”
“Let’s not talk about my favourite hero’s movies. You’ll only succeed in driving a wedge between the two of us.”
“A what?”
“A wedge! W…e…d…g…e. Rhymes with the words, ‘edge’, ‘sledge’ and ‘ledge’.”
“I see. But what does ‘wedge’ mean?”
“Originally, it was an instrument or a tool that was made of a hard substance. It was used to split open an object. Nowadays, a wedge mostly refers to the piece of wood or metal used to keep two things apart. It can also…”
“I see! So, when you say criticising your favourite actor will drive a wedge between us, what you mean is that it’ll ruin our existing relationship. We’ll no longer be friends.”
“Very good. It’ll sour our relationship. Here’s an example. There are quite a few people who wish to drive a wedge between my boss and me. I’m sure one of these days, they’ll succeed.”
“Don’t believe a word that Namratha says. She takes great delight in driving a wedge between people.”
“The disagreement over which car to buy drove a wedge between the once happy couple.”
“Soon, they’ll begin to disagree about many other things. And before you know it, ….”
“They’ll get divorced!”
Published – February 17, 2025 08:30 am IST